Differentiated price loss aversion in destination choice: The effect of tourists' cultural interest
Files
TR Number
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This article looks into the differentiated effects of loss aversion depending on whether individuals show cultural interest when choosing a destination. Based on the fact that perceived value implies not only sacrifices but also the expectations of a certain level of quality and prospects of satisfaction, together with the idea the Prospect Theory applies to tourism prices, the article states the hypothesis that interest in culture when choosing a destination lowers people's loss aversion. By incorporating the reference-dependent model into a Multinomial Logit Model with Random Parameters - which controls for heterogeneity - the empirical application shows that culture-interested tourists are less loss averse; i.e. the negative effect of finding a higher than expected price diminishes with cultural interest. The expectation of enjoyment of these attributes and the more conscious attitude toward maintenance/restoration activities of cultural sites are hypothesized to lead prices to be evaluated differently when selecting a destination.